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Censorship
According to the Oxford Dictionary, censorship is “the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.” Censorship is a heavily debatable subject as what should be censored varies from person to person depending on their background and their motives. Some censorship is for the protection of others, such as archives restricting materials that have social security numbers on them. Other times, materials are censored because they could cause social damage to a person. Of course, some people censor materials because they simple do not want others to gain the knowledge within it. An example of this is countries whom limit what is accessible on their internet or news networks. Censorship in the Media Books Books can be censored on any level of government or social level and it usually just looks like taking a book off of the shelves so that children or people in the community can't read them. One of the most famous banned book lists is the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, or the list of books banned by the Catholic Church, which was in enactment from 1559-1948. A common theme in book censorship regards books that were fundamental in social movements. Invisible Man, ''for example, was banned for its discussions of topics such as black nationalism, Marxism, and identity. Similarly, ''Uncle Tom's Cabin, ''the best selling book of the 19th century besides the Bible, was banned from the South as "abolitionist propaganda." History has set a precedence for banning books based on social ideaology that strays from the status quo. '''Movies and TV shows' Movie and television censorship usually entails censoring pornography and obscenity, but can also extend to censoring political statements that go against government intentions or are politically incorrect. Television ratings Movie ratings Music Music is censored on several different levels. On the radio, a station may censor out a bad word or something that is controversial. Music companies put ratings on songs so that parents may censor their children from watching them. Countries will ban whole songs in order to make sure the political statement that the song makes does not make it to the public ear. 'Internet' Internet access can be censored by restricting entire parts of online media. This is done by erecting huge online firewalls that block not only websites, but anything that contains words, ideas, or images that are considered appropriate for censorship. This can stretch from elementary schools blocking Internet access to online games to keep children focused, to entire countries blocking out information on history, political movements, or the outside world in general. It is censorship taken beyond content and applied to entire maps of the world wide web. Perhaps one of the most well-known instances of political internet censorship comes out of North Korea. Freedomhouse.org, an independent watchdog organization, regularly rates countries on a scale of free (0) to not free (30). North Korea has consistently rated at 30 and not free since their records began in 2002. Access to all foreign and public independent media is strictly regulated in North Korea; according to Freedom House, citizens rarely have personal computers and most access is available through public entities like the library or work offices, allowing a stricter level of regulation. In fact, citizens are allowed access only to a national internet that does not allow them to visit foreign sites. Although there has been an incremental increase in Internet access for scientists and students, it is still extremely regulated.